Saturday, another sloshy seventeen?

Well, it's Friday, and I feel good. I took a cue from the sane part of my brain and ran a fun run 5 miler yesterday, intentionally going slow and enjoying the ride. At this point, it's easy to be persuaded that if the effort isn't hard, that you aren't training well. But this can lead to overtraining, burn-out, even injury, and at the last few weeks of build-up, this is not a risk to want to take.

It was nice to go out with no pressure, and enjoy the fact that we were outdoors and able to run. As our Team points out regularly during meetings, training for a marathon is nothing compared to going through chemotherapy or dealing with the challenge of a blood related cancer. And the fact that we GET to run and are ABLE to run is something we should appreciate every single day.

It was nice to see the sunset, and to hear the sound of birds- could spring actually be around the corner????

Having said that, we are scheduled for another severe storm tomorrow, with a variation- it will be in the upper 30's and low 40's, which means RAIN instead of snow. In fact, the forecast shows steady rain from 9 this evening to 5 p.m. Saturday, with thunder and potential for localized flooding. On the PLUS side, current predictions list 'showers' until 11 a.m., and 'rain' from 12 p.m. onwards. I am hoping this is right!

Our coach says today: "running in the rain has a unique way of returning you to your youth and connecting you to the earth." Let's get ready to get connected! He also says "Embrace the reality that tomorrow may be the hardest training run of the season and realize that the benefits of completing it are limitless".

If this is happening to you where you are and you are training too, remember that the Boston Marathon is never predictable, weather-wise. Running and learning to run in adverse conditions gives us the tools we need to be better prepared. Here's to Saturday!

• Tips:
• Wet shoes? To dry them out, remove inserts and stuff with newspaper. The paper will absorb the water overnight and pulling out the paper the next day will give you a dry pair of shoes in about 24 hours.
• When nearing the last section of training, start thinking about your race day shoes. If you've been rotating a couple of pairs and ESPECIALLY if you are running in a model released a year or more ago, start scoping out places to buy your race day shoes. Buy your shoes and break them in ahead of race day. I like to wear them on at least one short run and one or two longish runs, then put them away for the big day.